Has it really only been a year since we first started the Hemmings Six Degrees of Automotive Separation Challenge? One would have thought we’d have buzzed through all the possible connections between automakers in that time, but with every challenge, new and interesting connections are brought up by our infinitely resourceful participants.

One would’ve also thought that we’d have run out of automakers to suggest for these challenges, but in reviewing them all, it appears we’ve yet to include Alfa Romeo as the focus of a challenge. That’s a fairly large omission.

So we’ll make Alfa Romeo the hound in this week’s fox-and-hound-type challenge. The first person to comment on this post gets to suggest a fox that everybody else then tries to connect in six degrees or less to Alfa Romeo. Whoever successfully answers that gets to suggest another fox, and so on and so forth. As always, a degree of separation consists of one company owning another, merging with another or sharing another’s parts.

UPDATE: To kick things off, Timothy Wade suggested Autocar, while Marc Tyler suggested AvtoVAZ. Timothy went ahead and solved them both, as did marmer, who provided our next fox in the form of Duesenberg. Timothy then responded with a Duesenberg solution and suggested Austin for the next fox.

UPDATE: marmer also solved Duesenberg and suggested Porsche, which Timothy answered (and then marmer answered twice). marmer also gave us an answer to Austin using some of the groundwork laid by Timothy in the Porsche answer.

UPDATE: marmer gave us a new fox of Ford, which he and Timothy both solved.

Duesenberg was part of the Cord empire.
Cord body dies were used for Hupmobile Skylarks and Graham Hollywoods.
Chrysler bought Graham’s Detroit factory in 1947. (Also, the original Graham Brothers truck company was bought by Dodge in 1925.)
Dodge drivetrains were used in Dual-Ghia cars of the mid-50s, with coachwork by Ghia.
Ghia provided the bodywork for the Alfa 1900C Ghia Sprint.

Porsche – VW
VW – Magna Steyr
Magna Steyr – FIAT (I know its the FIAT connection, but I think its neat they produced a liscensed version of the 500 in the late ’60’s so I’ll use that connection).
FIAT – Alfa

A.L.F.A was formed to take over the Italian part of the Darracq auto company in 1909. After WWI the name of investor Nicola Romeo was added.
Darracq built vehicles in Germany in a partnership with Adam Opel AG under the name “Opel Darracq.” from 1902 to 1907
Opel has been a subsidiary of GM since 1929.
GM is a participant in the “Global Hybrid Cooperation” two-mode hybrid technology development group, which BMW joined in 2005.
Here the path splits into two alternatives:

BMW owned the Rover Group, formerly Austin Rover, briefly in the mid-1990’s, and they still own MINI, which started out as an Austin project.

BMW got its start in cars by buying the Dixi brand from Automobilwerk Eisenach, which was manufacturing Austin Sevens under license.

Ferdinand Porsche designed an air-cooled V8 engine for Steyr military vehicles during WWII.
Steyr-Daimler-Puch designed the Puch G, better known as the Mercedes-Benz G-wagen, which was built under license by Peugeot and later Panhard for the French Army (as the Peugeot P4.)
PSA Peugeot Citroen and Toyota build Aygos and small Peugeots and Citroens in the Czech Republic.
Toyota and GM, we know, NUMMI, Geo Prizm, etc, etc.
The Alfa MiTo is built on the GM Gamma SCCS platform jointly developed with (sorry) FIAT.

Alfa’s first trucks, the Tipo 50’s of the early 1930’s, used Büssing designs under license.
Büssing partnered with and was taken over by MAN AG in the 1969-1971 period.
VW owns 29 percent of MAN. Of course, VW has their own heavy truck subsidiary, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
The VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne share a platform.

Now, BMW furnished a few hundred 2.4L turbo-diesel engines (same as used in the 524td) to Ford for the Lincoln Mark VII in the mid-80s.

Or,

Alfa trucks in the 60’s were designed and built in association with Saviem.
Saviem is now part of Renault.
Renault is a part owner (20%) of the Volvo Group.
Volvo AB sold its passenger car division to Ford.